If you want to learn how to engage in productive thinking, Tim Hurson is the guy to teach you how. Tim is the author of a book called “Think Better: An Innovator’s Guide to Productive Thinking” and this conversation is part of the celebration of the tenth anniversary of that book, which you can pick it up right now on Amazon. Anthony admits that this interview starts off a little weird for him because he and Tim have been acquainted with each other for a long time and they belong to a peer group where they communicate with each other often, but before this conversation, they’d never spoken face to face. It’s also a little weird because Anthony’s book, “The Lost Art of Closing” cites one of Tim’s books “Never Be Closing” on the cover flap as a bad idea. But in spite of that difference, which turns out not to be that much of a difference, Tim and Anthony are completely aligned on many things when it comes to life and sales. You’ll enjoy this stimulating conversation with Tim about how you can think more productively and therefore be more successful, so be sure you take the time to listen.

How you as a salesperson can get the absolute right to the next deal with the person you just closed

This conversation starts out with a bit of banter between Anthony and his guest, Tim Hurson, over what Tim was trying to say when he wrote a book called “Never Be Closing.” Tim’s point was that thinking of things as “closed” could lead you to think that the deal is done, when it’s really only the beginning. What you’re actually doing is you’re gaining commitments, you’re gaining friends, you’re establishing relationships that you don’t want to end – which will lead not just to the first sale but to the second sale and all the sales beyond that. That’s where the conventional idea of closing is “Finish the deal” but where Tim says he never wants to finish the deal. He wants to open more deals. It’s what he calls having an absolute right to the next deal you sell in such a way that you don’t ever have to sell to that person again. Find out how you can build THOSE kinds of relationships, on this episode.

You’ve got to listen to this episode if you want to understand the way of thinking that enables you to be more creative, productive, and effective

Tim Hurson used to go around the country putting on seminars and giving speeches, and when he did he’d often meet people on planes. It was the typical situation where you start talking to somebody, asking, “What do you do?” and as soon as somebody asked Tim what he did he would say things like, “You know, I teach people how to think creatively.” They’d immediately go back to their magazine. But one day, completely on a whim, Tim answered the question by saying, “I teach people how to think more productively.” The difference in the response he got was nothing short of amazing. Suddenly he had made a connection with the person he was talking to because what was important to them was to be productive. Tim’s come to believe that there’s a way of thinking that actually allows you to learn better, to plan better, to solve problems better, to do better, and ultimately to BE better as a human being. Find out what that way of thinking is on this episode of In The Arena.

Productive thinking has many enemies. You’ve got to clearly know what they are and how to overcome them

The second chapter of Tim Hurson’s book, “Think Better” speaks to the things that prevent us from thinking productively. He points out three of them: Monkey Mind, Gator Brain, and The Elephants Tether. In this conversation with Anthony, Tim walks through two of those three enemies to productive thinking, explaining how they work in the brain, why they happen, and what you can do to overcome them. This is a section you’ll relate to entirely. Anthony says the ability to master these enemies is the difference between consistently working in a distracted state and beginning to work in a productive state of mind. Don’t miss out on this practical conversation.

Most people are too quick to answer the questions that come up in life. Staying in the question longer could lead to greater solutions. Here’s how

Throughout life and business, we have questions to answer, dilemmas or obstacles to overcome. One of the highest human instincts is to find answers to questions – but often we rush to the answer too quickly. Tim Hurson says we don’t stay in the question long enough, which means we don’t do a good job of problem-solving. The reason we do this is that we’re really uncomfortable with not knowing, we’re uncomfortable with not nailing down things. We want to attribute a reason to things and the sooner we can do that the more quickly we’ll get back to a place of comfort – whether the answer we’ve come up with is the best answer or not. Discover how you can unlock untapped aspects of your productivity and creativity by staying in the question longer. Tim Hurson calls it “Productive Thinking” and you can learn all about it on this episode.

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